Aaron Tieger asks, "The message here, then, is that legitimacy is conferred by the sellout?"
Being signed by a label is selling out? Publishing a book-length book on a press that publishes and distributes dozens of other book length-books is selling out?
Being signed by a label is selling out? Publishing a book-length book on a press that publishes and distributes dozens of other book length-books is selling out?
Comments
There is no earthly reason "real" as in "real label" or "real book" implies corporate backing. It does imply something that is "edited" "curated" or chosen.
I guess you're reading that in, in a similar way to the way that Scott read in that I must like "market pop" and not blues (I like blues more than my husband or mom, anymore, because they've gotten tired of it -- but I don't buy music, and I listen to the 88.1 KJAZZ Sunday afternoon blues show occasionally, and they don't).
But, you know, as I pointed out to Chris, I like the collected, the complete, AOR, the entire CD, and for me, the hit, the EP, the 45, etc. are mostly novelties. The k-tel compilation album -- a collection of novelties. Now I'm a sucker for novelty, unfortunately, but I don't prefer it to the sort of sustained effort and achievement I find in larger / longer collections.
I also generally prefer the scratched-in-the-master poems, the last song on side 2, the bonus track, to the hit, the song that's first.
I never presumed your musical preference. I merely used blues in an example of music - the point was the format. (In fact I am not a blues fan myself but regardless, point being...)
"curated" "chosen". This is I think the crux here of what Aaron is saying. You're implying that smaller, more lo-fi (though not necessarily) medium/format/packaging, is not somehow selected or earned, if you will. That art is second rate until it is backed/supported/financed by an established entity or call it "corporation". Not "worth it" as you have said before.
I still don't know what you mean by "worth it" either. I assume that equates to dollars or cents per poem or page or barcode stripe.
Scott Pierce
You're implying that smaller, more lo-fi (though not necessarily) medium/format/packaging, is not somehow selected or earned, if you will.
I am implying that, and I'm struggling with those implications, since they aren't what I started out thinking. What I hate are crappy self-produced chapbooks.
That art is second rate until it is backed/supported/financed by an established entity or call it "corporation".
I find these two thoughts to be completely unlinked. They don't follow or imply one another. I have explained that in the case of chapbook collections before booklength collections of the same material plus more, I find chapbooks to be "preliminary." In the case of excerpts from longer works, I find them to be "secondary."
I don't remember if I uploaded my struggle with Jesse and Daniel at Ahadada over an e-chap-length "selected" -- I'm doing a forilegium from my short poems instead, because I think there's no ethical way for me to select from my published books, which represent about 10% of what I've written in the past 20 years, usefully or ethically. I offered to select from my online poems, but they weren't very interested in that.
So I really don't know how this follows. I would say, perhaps, that art is second rate until it is backed/supported by an established entity called a reader (unknown to the author), editor, or critic.
Part of this, too, is, as Scott's pointed out, a reaction to a few coteries on my part, (although, note I've not included self publish or perish, except perhaps when noting that self produced, short, saddle stapled items are not cv-worthy publications -- in other words, I don't think the DIY effort properly crosses into the "professionalisation" portion of poetry teaching / reception) but also more specifically local LA poetry politics.
Hmmmm. No struggles here, and I'm sorry if you're struggling. In fact, we're waiting for something. The manuscripts you'd first suggested (what was it 600 pages or something?) were simply not doable for us. Also, the flowers sequence you'd submitted wasn't quite as interesting as other writing of yours that I'd seen, and I believe I suggested a "selection" as one of two possibilities--the other being to send another sequence of about 30 pages or so. Approx. 30 pages is our max for on-line work. I wasn't particularly interested in reprinting work from the net, simply because it's already out there in a big way. Sorry if I was the source of such angst and please send something. We'd be happy to have you among our authors. Jess